  
By Bill Bachrach, CSP
Have you noticed how many people embark on a financial
planning career, master the usual basics, then lo and behold, can’t
get any clients and drop out of the business within a few months?
Or worse, hang on for the next 10 years, eking out a client or two
when the heat is on.
Few advisors fail in this business because they
can’t understand how a mutual fund works, or because they
can’t crunch the numbers and write a financial plan. People
fail because they can’t get and retain clients.
Out of focus
I’ve always been of the opinion that management focuses on
getting you the wrong stuff—licensing, products and persuasion
tactics—and then wonders why you show up in the marketplace
like a salesperson who pushes products. You wind up more comfortable
with products than you are with the process of getting hired, creating
relationships and gaining people’s trust.
But some leaders have chosen to teach people how
to get clients. Then, if their rookies don’t demonstrate a
willingness to implement the process for getting hired, they don’t
waste a lot of time teaching them about the rest of it. Hasta la
vista, and have a good life.
While client acquisition is system-driven, it’s
a different kind of process. And how you implement the process determines
the outcome. If two people use the exact same planning formula,
they will get the exact same results. But if two people use the
same process for interviewing prospective clients, they won’t
necessarily get the same results. Here, the human element is what
matters, whereas the actual planning is sort of robotic.
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| The
single most critical skill in the financial services industry
is the ability to get hired by a client and stay hired. |
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You’re hired
What can you learn from this? Just that the single most critical
skill in the financial services industry is the ability to get hired
by a client and stay hired. More eloquently, it’s the ability
to build trust with people so they want to work with you and refer
everyone they know to you.
For those who are farther from their rookie days,
my message is equally simple: Concentrate on the right things. Based
on my experience with hundreds of top producers, I’m wondering
if the industry attracts people who have a hard time staying focused.
Many financial pros I know have CNBC on all the time in the background
and are constantly distracted by what’s happening on Wall
Street and around the world. They juggle the phone, the computer,
the staff, thinking multi-tasking is where it’s at.
Yet Julie Morgenstern, the modern maven of organization,
offers this caution: Beware of multi-tasking. Although we used to
believe it increased productivity, it’s since been proven
to do the exact opposite. She tells us, train yourself to focus
on one task at a time, and you’ll get more done in less time,
and the quality of work will increase.
Focus! Stay with the fundamentals—the ones
that make a difference in your business—become a master at
building high-trust client relationships and your success is assured.
Don’t be a salesperson. Be a Trusted Advisor.©2004
by Bill Bachrach Bachrach & Associates, Inc.
Bill Bachrach is the author of four industry-specific
books, including, It’s All About Them; How Trusted Advisors
Listen for Success. He also runs the Three-Day Values-Based
Selling Academy. Contact Bachrach & Associates Inc. at
800-347-3707 or visit its website www.bachrachvbs.com.
December 2004
Focus on the Fundamentals
YAT Spotlight: Mike
Bennetti, LUTCF
Impacting Lives
The Financial Advisor’s
12-Month Guide to Success
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